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Sec 377 cases shake up city’s gays

Community Finds Bengaluru Safe, Friendly; Carries On Battle Against Discrimination

| TNN | Nov 16, 2014, 04:00 IST

Bengaluru: Apple CEO Tim Cook and Latvian foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics may have come out of the closet to tell the world they are gay. But two recent incidents in Bengaluru, known as a gay-friendly city, have jolted the gay community.
In both incidents, the draconian Section 377 of the IPC outlawing unnatural sex, was invoked; in the first, against a doctor who was extorted by a boy with whom he had sexual relations, and in the second, against a techie who kept his wife in the dark about his sexuality and cheated on her.
Gay activists point out that the doctor was himself the complainant and victim in the case of blackmail and extortion, and the techie could have been merely slapped with a cheating case, as would have been done if he was a heterosexual. If not for these two aberrations, Bengaluru has rarely been hostile or inimical to them, they say.
Thomas Mathew, 26, (name changed) swears Bengaluru was the turning point of his life. “I’d lived in three cities before I moved to Bengaluru and only here I found people to whom I could talk freely about my questions and find myself. I wasn’t scared of being judged here,” he says.
In October this year, he finally sent a long email he had been writing and rewriting to his parents for over three months, telling them about his sexuality. His affluent parents, living in two different metros, told him he was acting childish and should visit a priest. But Thomas stood his ground, and they grew silent.
The comfort Thomas claims he enjoys in Benglauru is something many men like him feel. “Walking on the street, holding your man’s hands has never got anyone into trouble, as far as I know,” said Romal Singh, a gay activist of the city. Romal, who came out as a gay at the age of 16, says he’s never heard of any gay person coming under attack.

COMMUNITY FEELING

A strong sense of community is possibly why many gays feel safer in Bengaluru. There are several active groups that organize weekly meetings for the community – here everything is discussed, from gossip to serious activism. Discussions and debates about homosexuality are encouraged at several fora in the city, including colleges.

Gay activists are not limited to coffee bars of central Bengaluru. Many are considered leading lights among the city’s intelligentsia. The city was naturally in the vanguard during the recent campaigns against Section 377.
Bengaluru’s Alternative Law Forum (ALF) is leading the legal challenge to Section 377. ALF researcher Danish Sheikh says, “We have a situation in Bengaluru where many corporates want to give benefits to sexual minorities, especially medical benefits. However, as long as the law criminalizes homosexuality, such benefits will remain under wraps.”
The activists, however, admit Bengaluru is still a long way from embracing them. It was his experience when looking for a house on rent that Amit Patel (name changed) realized what he was still up against. “I had to move out of the house I was living in because neighbours were uncomfortable. During the days of house-hunting that followed, I found a perfect house. Just when the house rent was getting fixed, I told the landlord I was gay. For half an hour, he lectured me about how homosexuality is bad, but didn’t give me the house,” he said.

MANY STILL IN CLOSET

The activists say only half their community, which is at least 50,000-strong, has come out in the open. Those who remain in the closet do so because of either convenience or fear of stigma.
“To be accepted in society as one among them, we have to campaign and talk about how different we are. That is the irony,” said a gay man, talking about their struggle.
Gay activists concede the bigger irony is that within sexual minorities itself, there is another struggle for equality: transgenders are often considered second-class citizens. A section of the community feels the moral right to fight for equality in society is compromised when they treat one of them, the transgenders, as outcasts.
Given the changing political complexion of the country, the dream of decriminalizing homosexuality remains difficult. The activists have a simple question: The British who criminalized homosexuality have now legitimized it. Why haven’t we?

LONG WAY TO GO

We have a situation in Bengaluru where many corporates want to give benefits to sexual minorities, especially medical benefits. However, as long as the law criminalizes homosexuality, such benefits will remain under wraps.

Danish Sheikh | alf researcher

I told the landlord I was gay. For half an hour, he lectured me about how homosexuality is bad, but didn’t give me the house.

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